Blog

Aled Matthews is a Cardiff based 3D Artist currently working with Gala Technologies, he recently took on our 2D and 3D for VFX online taster courses and gave us some insight as to exactly how helpful they were...

"Filmed on location within Tavares Bastos favela, Santa Teresa and The Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The BBC World Cup 2014 titles visual effects were created by GeeFX Studios. The entire piece was done at 6k resolution, filmed with a Red Epic Dragon. Although only broadcast by the BBC in HD, you can view a 4K version on the RED youtube channel above. In conjunction with The Sex Pixels, Unlimited VFX Limited brought to life the statue of Brazil’s 1958 world cup winning captain, Hilderaldo Luiz Bellini, The Macarana stadium entrance and Brazillian sky were also augmented for dramatic effect.

This year’s CG Student Awards competition has just launched and they are now taking entries. As big supporters of this competition we’re delighted to see it back for another year, and it’s looking bigger and better than ever. Dedicated to students studying for careers in Next-Gen Games and VFX / Animation industries, this competition is a great opportunity for students and alumni to showcase their work to industry experts, offering a little helping hand up the VFX career ladder.

You’ve got to take your hat off to the people who do the part-time evening courses at Escape. This is the course that people choose when they need to schedule their learning around other life commitments… and those life commitments usually involve full-time work.

Happy Friday everyone! May the woo be with you. There's a good vibe in the office this morning as we sail towards August bank holiday; the sun is shining, birds are swaying, trees are singing. I might even go for a walk later.

Tomorrow, August 1st, we're hosting a free webinar with Head of 3D and Escape tutor, Mark Spevick, who will be revealing some of the secrets at the heart of VFX. Introducing you to key techniques and exposing what this creative career is really like, Mark hopes to demystify the science behind the art.

Delivering the most up-to-date curriculum to our students is always at the heart of Escape Studios’ training. To achieve this we rely heavily on our industry connections to keep us tuned into the latest trends, technologies and processes at use in the current VFX climate, helping us develop and deliver the most relevant training for those looking to forge a career in VFX. To help us with this, we’ve appointed an Advisory Board of top industry figures who share their thoughts on what’s happening in the industry, where it’s headed and what’s required from VFX artists at this time.

Ever found yourself watching something with really cool effects and were left wanting to know how on earth they made that? If the answer is yes, then you’re not alone. We meet people like you every day here at Escape, and it’s your curiosity in the mechanics of VFX that shows you have the right aptitude to take it in and understand the technology behind it. VFX artists are curious beings by nature, who love experimenting with new technologies and ideas. It’s why they have so much fun in their day jobs.

Last week we were joined by Junior Lighting TD and Escape graduate Alastair Cross for a webinar that shows another side to VFX. The Hollywood side of VFX is probably why most of us want to work in the CG industry, but CG artists are putting their skills and knowledge to good use in lots of different areas. If you missed this webinar, the great news is we recorded it and the recording is now available to watch on our YouTube channel.

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a career in Visual Effects is far from boring. As far as careers go, this is an industry that keeps us on our toes, offering us a never ending number of new creative project ideas to be realised, fun new problems to be solved and new technologies to be developed. This is an industry that constantly pushes us to learn and discover more.

So it’s that time again… time to tempt, entice and hopefully ensnare a fresh batch of enthusiasts to come tame the beast that is VFX, here at Escape Studios. Hosted by recruitment and training team Flora and Nick, today is all about giving our potential Escapees a feel for what life at Escape has to offer, from our accelerated Classroom courses to the oh-so important free tea/coffee and, of course, the after hours bar downstairs!

While the days are cold, the nights are long, and we’ve seen the back of Christmas and New Year festivities, at one point or another, we all find ourselves daydreaming about the return of the summer sun. The smell of sun cream, the call of the beach, and the excuse to whack on a pair of shades, making ourselves look AT LEAST 20% cooler, is but a dream away at this, the tail end of January.

We have welcomed a great many students to our studio over the years, and those students all share something in common. That is, a passion for creativity and to start a career in visual effects. Students come from far and wide to attend our training facility, and emerge with skills that are truly mind blowing for 12 weeks of training. Each and every student invests extraordinary dedication to their work, and through that we are treated to some fantastic results.